Traditional Mexican Pozole (Pozole Rojo)

02 September 2009

Pozole...this is one of the few Mexican dishes that I did not grow up eating. (A real shame if you ask me!) The only kind of Pozole that I ever tasted was the kind you find in a can with a lovely señorita on the label. Pappy bought a can once, thinking it was Menudo. What came out of the can was a few pieces of chopped pork, lots of hominy and a red goop with way too many spices. Although this was our only experience with Pozole, we decided that we weren't Pozole people.

Fast forward to many years later, during my mother-in-law's first visit to the U.S. She prepared a wonderful pork and hominy soup, seasoned with ancho chilies and garlic. When the bowls were served, I noticed that everyone was squeezing fresh lime juice over the soup, then garnishing their bowls with shredded cabbage, chopped onion and sliced radishes. The first taste of this soup was like an explosion of flavors. I had to have more! And I needed to know the name of what I was eating. When my mother-in-law said that it was Pozole, I immediately thought of that canned nightmare. She lovingly laughed, then told me that you can't get good Mexican food from a can!

Pozole is a very traditional dish in Mexico. It is often reserved for special occasions such as birthdays, Christenings, First Communions and during the holiday season. In Mexico, Pozole is prepared using Maiz Negro (dried purple hominy). The dried maíz negro needs to be cured with water and lye a day in advance, which helps to soften the hominy and to remove the outer skin.

But freaketh not! I'm not going to make you do all that work. I don't use canned goods very often, but in cases like this I'm willing to make an exception. The only size can that I was able to find here in town was a 3 kilo can. Holy hominy, Batman! That's like 6 or 7 pounds of hominy. But you don't need that big of a can for this recipe. My suegra (mother-in-law) says that a good rule of thumb is to use equal parts of hominy and meat.

Now on to the recipe...

Pozole

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork shoulder roast

3 dried ancho chilies

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons salt

4 quarts water

1 (29 oz.) can white hominy, drained and rinsed

Garnish:

Limes

Shredded cabbage

Chopped Onion

Sliced Radishes

Tapatio Hot Sauce (optional)

Directions:

Cut the pork shoulder into large chunks. Place the pork shoulder in a 6-quart stockpot; add water and 1 teaspoon of the salt to the stockpot. Bring the pork shoulder to a boil over high heat; let boil for 30 minutes, skimming off the foam that forms. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the meat is tender.

While the meat is simmering, place the ancho chilies in a heatproof bowl. Pour 1 to 2 cups of the meat broth over the chilies. Let the chilies soak until they have softened completely. Remove the stems and seeds from the chilies. Place chilies in blender with the broth they were soaked in and the garlic cloves. Puree until very smooth.

Using a strainer, pour the puree mixture into the stockpot with the meat. (Spoon a couple of ladles full of broth over the chile puree to get all the great chile flavor.) Carefully, add the hominy to the stockpot. Season with the additional teaspoon of salt. Let simmer for atleast 30 minutes. Taste the broth to see if it needs more salt, adding more if necessary. Turn off the Pozole and let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

To serve, have all of the garnishes on the table and let your family or guests serve themselves. Be sure to have plenty of crunchy tostadas on the side. Enjoy!!!

Awsome recipe and you make it sound so easy I kept looking for some in spanish but my reading spanish skills are no bueno, it sounds authentic can't wait to get home and start preparing this to my family. Thank you!!

Leslie, made this for the first time tonight and it was fantastic! My husband is Mexican and it has taken 10 years for me to find an authentic recipe blog like yours! It has definitely made my husbands week! Thanks!

Leslie I have your recipe index in my favorites folder. I come here often to try your recipes. Today my husband and I went to the Dallas Farmers Market and ate lunch at a little Mexican stand where the cook gave me a small cup of Pozole to try. Oh my goodness! It was so wonderful. I came home to look and see if you had it listed in you recipes! There it was! I made a couple changes based on our preferences. I used shredded chicken instead of pork and added a couple cups of fresh spinach. Voila! Absolutely amazing. I can't believe I've never had this before. It is my new favorite. And thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes. Enfrolada's next!

I followed this recipe last week and changed a few things up to pop out the flavor. 1- browned the pork before boiling. 2- toasted a mix of acho and guagillo chiles, 3-broth with 1/2 onion and 4-added oregano and cumin. It took the overall flavor to another level.